See ‘Olle’s Last Bow’ on April 23

Lolla, played by Stephanie Smith and Olle, played by Bruce Tollefson in rehearsal for “Olle’s Last Bow.” (Submitted photo)

Rehearsals are underway at Sons of Norway, Scandia Lodge, for their one act skit titled, “Olle’s Last Bow.”
The show promises to be a step back in time to the days of love songs, corny jokes and melodrama. The community is invited to the premier and, very possibly, last performance of “Olle’s Last Bow” at the Waconia American Legion on Tuesday, April 23. Social hour begins at 6:30 p.m. with the show starting at 7:15 p.m.
The story is very loosely based on the life of the 20th Century’s most famous and popular Scandinavian-American vaudeville star, Hjalmar Peterson, better known by his stage name, “Olle i Skratthult,” which translates in English as, “Ole in Laughterville.”
Peterson’s stage career coincided with the heyday of Scandinavian vaudeville, which lasted roughly from the early 1900s until the late 1920s. Traveling to Scandinavian settlements throughout the country with a troupe of 20 to 30 performers, Peterson appeared onstage as a bumbling Swedish hayseed, whose funny stories and songs would often satirize the immigrant experience.
The show is the creation of Peter Holbrock, a St. Paul native and Scandia Lodge patron. Holbrock wrote one of the songs for the perfomance as well as introducing and arranging other old vaudeville songs to fit the story line.
The performers are all local talent, many of whom are members of Scandia lodge.